THE SINGER NOT THE SONG...

I`ve been watching some TV series lately about Cornwall.  There seem to be quite a few of them, I guess because in a time of lockdown we have all been on the lookout for some relief, if only vicariously.   There`s been Rick Stein`s series, one about Cornwall`s fishing life, a more serious one by Simon Reeve and one by Julia Bradbury, which is still ongoing.

It`s the Julia Bradbury one which is `interesting.`  The screenshot above shows her on a clifftop overlooking one of the enchanting coves along the coastline close to Gwennap Head.  This was the first episode in the series and promised to cover the walk from Porthcurno to Sennen Cove, via Lands End.   Which was a fine ambition but the challenge to do any kind of justice to that walk was not helped by the fact that the first eight minutes or so were actually filmed some miles away - at Botallack, where Julia got involved with an artist who was captivated by the sight of the Crowns Engine Houses perched on the cliff.  Well, who wouldn`t be?

And having spent that amount of time, given the need for a long advert break half way through the half hour programme, there wasn`t much time left to cover the advertised journey.  So we were left with very short glimpses of the spectacular landscape of that part of the Cornish coast - the odd stop at Porthgwarra, a longer look at the Minack Theatre and a couple of interviews with passing historians and wildlife experts along the way.  And when Sennen Cove was eventually reached, the short time left was spent with another artist, this time one who was doing his thing with a rake in the sand.

We`ve done that walk - OK, in bite size chinks, which is really the best way to do walks like that, so you can really take in what it`s all about;  far more satisfying than the rather self indulgent glimpses which Julia allowed us to see.   What`s needed is for someone to do the walk with a camera and just walk it - no interviews, no distractions, no faux whooping and hollering, just show the world what it`s really like.  

It strikes me too that series like Julia`s, passingly entertaining though it may be, tend in the end to be more about the presenters than the landscape they`re passing through, which is a pity.  In the final analysis it tends to be all about the singer rather than the song being sung.

 And the sun always seems to shine - they pick a good day for it.  When we did that walk a few years ago now, we saw it like it really was.  Here`s a photo I took  then - it could be the same spot where Julia was standing in the picture above - showing the bit of coast path above Nanjizal Bay.......please click on the photo for a better image.....

No sign of Julia or anyone else on that day, which was all the better for it.  It`s called living.

 

ON CHESIL BEACH..

Did a bit of exploring last week - just a bit; nothing too strenuous - and one of our explorations took us to West Bexington on the Dorset coast.  We had been looking where to book a cottage for our holiday and one of the locations that popped up in our search was West Bexington.   It looked quite inviting - a small village on the Dorset coast with access to the beach, a beguiling name and a feeling of `away from it all.`  In the end, for one reason or another, we decided to look elsewhere and ended up hiring a lovely house in Charmouth.  Just as well.

On the day we visited West Bexington (after failing to locate the beaches at Burton Bradstock and elsewhere along the coast) we found the car park on the beach and it was there that I encountered the most complicated car parking machine I have ever come across.   It advertised a couple of hours stay for 60p which I thought might do us and I noticed that there were various ways of paying the fee - by mobile phone, by card or by cash.  Of course I opted for the cash option only to find that it was the most difficult to understand and, of course, it offered `no change given` so I parted with a pound coin, finally retrieved the ticket but lost  40p in the process.  There should be a law.

I took the above photo of the beach on what was a fairly gloomy day, so I suppose we didn`t see the beach at its best.  It is, however, part of the 18-mile long Chesil beach which runs from West Bay to Portland in the east and it is alleged that you can always tell where you are on the beach by the size of the pebbles - the further east you go, the bigger the pebbles become.   Those at West Bexington were pretty small, so we had to be close to the western end of the beach.

It`s a great place for fishing though - renowned for cod and such like - and it seemed that the only other people attracted to West Bexington that morning were determined fishermen.   Here they are doing their stuff:-

Now a good friend of mine has walked the entire length of the south west coast path - all 630 miles of it from Minehead in Somerset round to Poole in Dorset - and so he must have walked past West Bexington and trudged his way across all those miles of assorted pebbles.  We managed a bit of the path each side of the village but found it hard going but at least I can claim to have walked a bit of the coast path along this famed stretch of beach.  (Over the years I have developed the knack of ticking off stretches of the coast path by the simple process of claiming that seeing round the next corner should be sufficient rather than having to walk it all but in fairness we have actually walked most of the Devon and Cornwall stretches. It`s just the Dorset bit that has largely escaped us.)

Despite its fame through the works of Thomas Hardy. as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Jurassic Coast and its features in film and television productions, I think we must have visited one of Chesil Beach`s least prepossessing locations.   Or maybe it` just me?

A TIMELY REMINDER...

Amongst our frequent visits to south Devon was a week we spent in the coastal village of Torcross.   It wasn`t the greatest holiday we`ve ever had;  the cottage we stayed in was `iffy` and the neighbours were decidedly `unwelcoming,` despite which we were blessed with decent weather and a few decent coast path walks, memorably the hazardous bit between Start Point and Mattiscombe beach.

But Torcross was interesting.  Along with many other villages in the South Hams area, Torcross was evacuated to make way for 15,000 allied troops who needed the area to practice for the D-Day landings.  But in the early hours of 28 April 1944 a tragic accident occurred during a training exercise when nine German torpedo boats intercepted a three mile long convoy of vessels travelling from Portland to Slapton Sands to undertake the D-Day landing rehearsals.   Two tank landing ships were sunk with the loss of 946 American servicemen but poor communications by the allied command led to badly times shelling on the beach, killing about 300 more men.

Over 1,000 lives were therefore lost over the course of that operation, most of them through American `friendly fire.`   So it seems fitting that a Sherman amphibious tank along with several plaques stand at Torcross car park between Slapton Ley and the beach as memorials to those men who lost their lives in such tragic circumstances.

And it also seems fitting, on this 75th anniversary weekend of VE Day, to remember our  week in Torcross as being clearly less memorable than the tragedies that took place all those years ago.   Anyway, here`s a photo I took showing Torcross and that fateful beach as it is these days....... 

`APRIL SIGHED AND STEPPED ASIDE...

.....and along came pretty little May.`  So said Oscar Hammerstein and he wasn`t wrong.  May is indeed pretty and right now the birds are singing, the grass is growing determinedly thanks to the May flush and flowers are appearing in the gardens and woodlands - at least here in deepest Kent.  What tops it all off is, of course, the fact that it`s bluebell time.

And it reminded me of a holiday we had -one of many - staying in Cornwall`s Roseland Peninsula.  That was a few years ago now before the ravages of dodgy knees and anno domini tightened their grip and we were able to have some decent walks in that magical kingdom.   One of the most memorable was walking the coast path from Rosevine to the beaches at Carne and Pendower.   It`s yet another fantastic walk along a fantastic stretch of coast and as we climbed up the hill towards Pendower we looked back at this bank of bluebells.

I hope my photo did it justice in that it shows pretty little May in the Roseland at its best, with the wide sweep of Gerrans Bay peeling off into the distance - please give it a click and see if you agree....... 

BEEN HERE A FEW TIMES...

....well, more than just a few.   It`s yet another of my favourite places that I never grow tired of visiting.  It`s Polly Joke, or Porth Joke, between Crantock and Holywell Bay on the north coast of Cornwall and we were lucky to be there when the poppies and corn marigolds were in full bloom in the fields leading down to the most secluded beach. 

Polly Joke derives its name from the Cornish phrase poll an chauk which means `the chough`s cove` - referring to the red-billed Cornish chough which is now extinct on this part of the coast.  Another place I`m determined to revisit once this damned war is over.......

(It really is worth clicking on the photo.)

AWAY FROM IT ALL...

Sometimes, all you need is to stand on the shoreline and look out at the sea, the sky and the distant horizon.   Well, that`s how I felt when I took this photo.......

(Please click on photo for better image)

DOWN TO THE SEA...

To south Devon this time and the lonely stretch of coast path that leads from Hope Cove to Salcombe.   Half way along we stood on the cliff looking down on Soar Mill Cove and I was struck by the colours, the light and the solitude of the place, all of which I tried to capture in this photo......

(Please click on photo for better image.)

We decided it was a good place to stop for lunch and as we took in the view suddenly the local cattle from Soar Mill Farm took their own decision to wander down to the shoreline for a paddle.   Well it was a hot summer`s day, so why not?

 A PICTURE PAINTS.....

Been looking back over my old pictures that I`ve taken in recent years and posted either on Flickr or Ipernity and thought it might be a pleasant change from all the stuff going on in our troubled world to share some of them on here.   To start with, here`s one I took on the coast path in Cornwall showing an `interesting` sky above St.Ives Bay.......

I took this as long ago as October 2012 - maybe my photography has improved a bit since then but it`s still a nice image and reminds me of yet another inspiring visit to that wonderful part of the world.......

HERE`S HOPING...

I`ve lost count of the number if times we have stayed in various parts of Cornwall and walked various bits of the south west coast path.   And in about two months from now we will be going back to Padstow to resume our love affair with that glorious area in and around the Camel Estuary and the north Cornwall coastline.

In advance of all that, I have ordered this book which promises to include walks that we can still do as we approach our 80s.  I guess I`ll have to wait and see.

But in the meantime, I have come across a quite captivating YouTube channel that sees a couple, sometimes with their dogs and family, setting out on `Cornish Walking Trails` in most parts of the Duchy coastline.  One of the walking guide books they use is the one I have sent for so it should include some walks we can manage.

Here`s a taste of the walks they do - one we have enjoyed doing ourselves over the years - around St. Anthony Head on the Roseland Peninsula.  And, as you will see from this video, there are plenty more where that one came from.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.......

Well, we`ve had Christmas and Boxing Day and the shortest day of the year and in a week`s time we will be at the beginning of yet another year.  None of us knows what 2018 will bring but I`m looking forward to it if for no other reason than to enjoy the light, the warmth and all those summer things that seem so distant as we trudge our way through whatever the rest of winter might throw at us.

And for me, I guess in keeping with my simple tastes, I am really looking forward to a return to the 630 mile long south west coast path.  Over many years now we, along with a succession of golden retrievers, have walked much of the path .  We have selected bits that have appealed to us rather than setting out to cover the whole distance, although I do admire those `finishers` who have managed it.  I`m afraid that in the most recent years, our walks have diminished a bit, thanks to the onset of wonky knees, dodgy hips, bunions and the combined effects of anno domini and avoirdupois.   But we keep going.

Some of my personal favourite stretches of the path have included most of the Cornwall coast - The Roseland, The Lizard, the Far West and the North Coast.  I`m also very fond of the north and south Devon but I think my favourite area of all must be around the Camel Estuary and the clifftops around Pentire Head.   And as 2018 approaches, I`ve got a kind of mini bucket list for the coast path this coming summer and one of the places to return to has to be that stretch of path from Pentire to Lundy Bay on Cornwall`s north coast.

I noticed last April when we wandered down towards Lundy Bay that the real magic of Springtime was there to be found in all its splendour and charm.  It`s no good just keeping on walking;  sometimes nature compels you to stop and see what it has to offer.  And so, in an effort to brighten yet another gloomy winter`s day and to remind me what I  saw when I had the good sense to pause on the path and take it all in, here`s a photo I took on that faraway April day........

(Please click on photo for better image)

OH TO BE IN ENGLAND...

.....now that April`s here.   So said Robert Browning and he may have had in mind the kind of scene in this photo that I took earlier this week along the stretch of the south west coast path near Lundy Bay in north Cornwall.   It was a perfect scene - blue skies, gentle breeze, birds singing, flowers along the way.

Trouble was, nothing really prepared me for what I discovered on my return home on Thursday.   Now we like to think that we live in a quiet-ish, peaceful, supportive community here in our Kentish conclave in what passes for the Garden of England.   And just 100 yards away down the road there`s a rather nice green area, flanked by trees with a stream running through it - a much treasured `amenity` for local residents, especially children.

Unfortunately, the area has once again been invaded - there`s no other word for it really - by about a dozen caravans, vans, trailers, etc. of the `travelling community.`  They simply break into the area, drive their vehicles over it, set up camp and know that the law and the authorities cannot touch them all over this Bank Holiday weekend.  Here`s what it looks like today:-

Just over the hedge on the right are three or four houses whose residents have to put up with the noise, the filth, the abusive behaviour and language but apparently there`s nothing the authorities can do apart from go through the tortuous legal process of serving Orders and hoping, optimistically, that eventually our visitors will be gone.  We local taxpayers have to pick up all the bills not least being the cost of cleaning up the mess they leave behind and leaving the area fit for human habitation again.

This is the third or fourth year this has happened and if I were not a tolerant, understanding chap who recognises the primacy of human rights, I could get a touch miffed about it all.   But this is England and it`s still just April...but I just wish I was back on that coast path again.

SNOPPER `S ORNITHOLOGICAL SNAPS...

I``m quite pleased with some of the `wildlife` photos I took whilst we were walking the Cornwall coast path a couple of weeks ago.  This one caught a kestrel in flight, hovering over Beacon Cove just south of Mawgan Porth...........

.......and at Mother Ivy`s Bay I spotted this seagull waiting patiently for something to turn up.......

......please click on pictures for better image.

THIS TIME.....PART FIVE...

To Crantock and up to West Pentire;  then down to the unspoilt, wonderful, Polly Joke, which has many attractions, not least being the complete absence of any `facilities` whatsoever.  So it`s just you and the beach and the tide and the cliffs and that fresh, clean Atlantic air.  When the tide is low, which it was when we visited, there are caves to explore and here`s a photo I took looking out from one of them......

.... and then on to Kelsey Head for a view of Holywell Bay but also to venture just off the coast path to look down at the seals lounging around on their own personal territory, The Chick.   Here they are.......

.....and to complete yet another memorable day, we returned to Polly Joke, had a pit stop and took the coast path around Pentire Point West and back to what passes for reality. (Sigh.)

THIS TIME LAST WEEK, PART TWO.....

.....saw us on the coast path again, this time from Harlyn Bay, around Cataclews Point, on to Mother Ivy`s Bay and up Trevose Head.   Another glorious day.  Well, the sun shines on the righteous?    This was Monday morning on the start of our walk at Harlyn Bay. Manic Monday?  I don`t think so.......

THIS TIME LAST WEEK....

.......we sat having a rest after walking the coast path from Mawgan Porth in Cornwall, high up on the cliff looking down on Watergate Bay.   As you can see from my photo, it was a glorious place to be on a glorious day.   Oh well, that brings an end to my Cornwall visits for this year.....but we`ve already made a booking for 2017.   When you see this, who can blame us?.........

ONE TO REMEMBER...

A couple of years ago, round about this time of the year, we were wandering along the bit of the south west coast path around Pentire Point and I looked down and was very taken not only by the sheer drop down but also the vivid, contrasting colours between the rock-face, the sea and the grasses at the edge of the path.  So I took this photo.  I remember it so well that I feel an urge to make a return visit.......

HERE WE GO AGAIN...

I was looking forward to this series, which is now in to its final stages of four films produced by BBC South West.  Now I am a proud member of the South West Coast Path Association, which exists - having been instrumental in establishing the 630 miles of coast path from Minehead in Somerset to Poole in Dorset - to maintain and promote the path for visitors and residents of the south west region.

And I`m the first to accept that it was always going to be difficult to condense 630 glorious miles into four half hour programmes.  But not for the first time, the BBC have failed dismally to capture the essence of a subject not only by cutting out huge chunks of the journey but also by pandering to the whims and fancies of a presenter who should know better.

They did the same with the `Coast` series which started off full of good intentions but drifted into programmes which were more about the presenters than what they were supposed to be presenting.  So far every edition of `Coastal Path` has seen the presenter, one Paul Rose, seemingly unable to resist doing things rather than simply walking the path and showing us what it`s really like.   

Tonight`s third episode saw him training with the military in Plymouth, snorkelling around Burgh Island rather than showing us the island, driving a train from Kingswear to Paignton and taking part in an RNLI rescue training  exercise.  After all that, there was not much time in a half hour programme to capture the essence of the coast path itself - its solitude, its changing character, its peace, quiet and the invigorating experience of just walking it.

It is an immense disappointment and so I still, very optimistically, look forward to a series of programmes that does just that.  The BBC won`t ever do the coast path justice - perhaps, having snaffled that Bake-Off thingy,  Channel Four might ?   

ANOTHER RE-TREAD...

Just back from another week walking the south west coast path in south Devon.  We`ve been there many times before and hopefully will again, as it is one of the most quiet, peaceful and beautiful parts of the south west.   One of our walks was from Hope Cove, following the coast path towards Soar Mill Cove.  On the way out of Hope Cove I took this photo, looking back at the almost chocolate box village.......

THAT`S MORE LIKE IT....

Back from another Cornish detox and it`s seriously refreshing and therapeutically comforting to spend time in a quiet, out-of-the-way place where not many people go. Just to be able to do things `dreckly` or not do them at all;  to get right away from the madness of the EU Referendum, the seemingly endless football season and the way the world is anyway.   This is a bit of coast path just down the lane from last week`s retreat. For me at any rate, I`m not sure it gets any better.......

(Please click on photo for a larger image)   

AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN...

Here`s a photo I took on a recent pilgrimage to the North Cornwall Coast Path.  It`s the stretch between Lundy Bay and Pentire Point and the promontory at the top of the photo is known as The Rumps, with the island, known as The Mouls or Puffin Island, just out to sea.   Apart from the majestic scenery, this bit of the coast path is memorable for a more poignant reason.

Just around the corner from Pentire Point at the top left of the picture, there`s a rather small and obscure plaque which marks the spot where Robert Lawrence Binyon (1869-1943) is alleged to have written his immortal poem, `For the Fallen.`   I say `alleged` because there`s another spot on the coast path, further down near Portreath which also claims the distinction.

Having come across the Pentire plaque and spent a few quiet moments of contemplation, I would merely suggest that the grandeur of Pentire Point must surely have been the greater and more dramatic influence for Binyon`s poem which, of course, includes the stanza that we all know and revere so well:-

They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.